


All and Alone

by Orchid (Hozue)



Series: Collections//Tokyo Ghoul [1]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: (but it doesn't actually take place so don't worry), Backstory, Best Friends, Canon Backstory, Canon Compliant, Gen, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kaneki Ken is nervous, Kaneki Ken is precious, Nagachika Hideyoshi Is a Dork, One Shot, Other, Pre-Canon, Sunshine Boy Nagachika Hideyoshi, rabbits die if they're alone, school is dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-08 19:31:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20840828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hozue/pseuds/Orchid
Summary: (or; a story in which he saw and wasn’t seen)Nagachika Hideyoshi is a friendly kid.Kaneki Ken is nobody.But...whydoes he still not have any friends?





	All and Alone

**Author's Note:**

> ###  ** _Story I ➺ All and Alone_ **
> 
> ****  
_↯_  
_Hide learns how to hide_
> 
> \--
> 
> _For ccharlottes, a snazzy, jazzy friend in the dark times that are the modern day._  

> 
> I've had a stint of over-active brainstorming and spiked creativity for a few weeks and then extremely low fml days and I also... feel kind of bad about hurting everyone in Black Teeth (and sullying the sunshine boy's beautiful character) :'D
> 
> _So,_ in addition to the updates in the White Mocha in his Mouth series, I have a few other sweet, canon-compliant/speculative fics that are in the works!!
> 
> Honestly, a **lot** of fics are always in the works in my head, but I'm in such a way lately that they will definitely be written so long as my body decides to let me wake up at a time that isn't after the sun has gone down.
> 
> _...or sleep after 24 hours have passed_ :')
> 
> (And the Kaneki/Happiness Series is still absolutely happening! It's just next to all the other in-the-works works lmao)  
****  
////////////////////////////////

In the break just before the last class of the day, Hide sat atop an unoccupied desk and laughed with the others at whatever dumb joke had just been told. When the excitement died down, the girl standing next to him bumped his shoulder with her own and stared at him in amused anticipation.

_A perfect school day._

“It’s not like you to give up that quick, dude. What happened to _‘I’m gonna prove how smart I am and then she’ll have to be my girlfriend’_?” he teased. A bare blush spread on the cheeks of the boy across from him and he looked to the side with a smirk that held bashful mischief.

“Ah, come on, Nagachika. I feel like you’re trying to swoop in and get her to be your girlfriend instead. After all, you’re the one who came into school looking like a dandelion! Your hair is so yellow!” the boy snipped back.

The children all laughed along and so did Hide, in spite of the abrupt tug of discomfort in his chest. His dads had suggested that he dye it blond since he was starting at a new school. _A fresh start,_ they had offered, warm smiles and all.

But that wasn’t something he was going to say out loud.

The teacher stood from his desk and began to prepare the chalkboard. The smattering of groups around the classroom hurried to finish their meaningless conversations and light-hearted complaints about school. The chatter rose in volume and animation and, finally, the children returned to their seats, reluctant to sit but ready to finish the day.

Hide ambled over to his own desk and plopped down, releasing a steady, quiet sigh. Absentminded, he wondered if they’d laze around the riverbank again and throw rocks at the water. It was simple and stupid, but an exhilarating pastime, and Hide was coming to enjoy the steam he could blow off by joining his friends there.

He wasn’t entirely sure where the steam was coming from, lately. His life had been so stable for the past few months that he didn’t even mind going home anymore. He didn’t mind calling it _home _at all.

His hand dug into his chin as he propped up his head and the teacher’s tired drone buzzed in his ear. It would be obvious to anyone that everyone in the room was ready to finish the day. It was perhaps even more apparent where he sat at the back of the room, as the classmates adjacent to him had opted to cross their arms and lay their head down with an uncomfortable bend to their front-facing heads.

The kid in front of him was hunched over, however, and while his spine seemed to be stressed by the posture, the boy’s head was clearly intent on whatever he was holding in his hands.

Of all of his classmates, Hide had never spoken to the kid. They’d never turned around, either, so he’d never bothered to introduce himself. Everyone stuck to their own group of friends, after all. 

_Why was the boy leaning over his lap so much?_ He probably got away with it by being so far from where the teacher stood, and the slow-approaching _(tediously-lagging)_ final bell that would send everyone on their way. Curiosity tingling in his brain, Hide studied the boy in lieu of the rest of the lesson, but the stranger hardly moved at all. Even his back remained stiff and bent, and his black hair obscured the features of his face.

The boy was dressed in a simple sweater, light blue and scratchy-looking. He seemed to be stretching the sleeves down to bunch in his fists, as though he were fighting the cold. The air conditioning was still a bit weak as the weather gradually shifted seasons, but Hide himself had rolled his sleeves to his elbows. That day had been closer to summer than autumn.

Finally, the stranger wiggled around in his seat. A muffled sniffle sounded in front of him and Hide had to wonder if the boy actually _was _cold from some kind of illness. The boy’s head bowed even lower than before and shook from side to side a few times before lifting again, higher than before. His arms moved as though he were putting something back into his desk and then he turned his head to the front of the classroom, just enough that Hide could glimpse his face.

It didn’t seem as though he had been crying, but _still, _the boy’s expression had some odd kind of mood sewn into it. For a few silent moments, Hide pondered where he’d seen it before. A lightly knitted brow, the bare hint of a frown, and soft, slightly chubby cheeks with the kind of lingering puffiness that suggested he was used to looking troubled.

Oh. He looked _troubled._

Hide jumped when the bell cut through the air. So caught up in his observations, he scrambled to take in the state of the rest of the classroom. Panic rushed his heartbeat as he realized that everyone was mostly done with packing up and he hadn’t even heard the homework assignment.

He quickly stashed his notebook away and scanned the chalkboard for any clue of what it was, but the teacher had already pulled the eraser over the words, dragging them into a blur of nonsense. Students assigned to cleanup duties for the week were approaching it, too, to finish it off.

No _way _he was admitting to the teacher that he hadn’t paid any attention to the lesson and needed to know what the assignment was. He suspected that fessing up might even land him more work to do.

Occupied by his worry, he had nearly forgotten what he’d missed the lesson for in the first place. Hide glanced at the boy in front of him, but the stranger was already making for the door without any mind to the gaggles of students around him.

Perhaps he could have asked him what the homework was. But the boy was already gone.

Hide’s own friends approached and he smiled at them, trying hard to hide his nerves. All that was left to ask them about the assignment, although they’d probably hang out at the riverbank, first.

* * *

The week continued to crawl along and Hide found himself more perplexed each day by the stranger sitting in front of his desk. The boy never _once _paused after the final bell and hardly even glanced at anyone else, so far as Hide could tell.

It wasn’t obvious why he was always in such a rush, either. Hide had never met another child who seemed entirely determined to avoid all of their peers, especially when their class was filled with easy-going, talkative students.

No one else ever mentioned the oddity that was the stranger in front of Hide’s desk. The boy left the room during their lunch breaks, too, and there was no way to follow him without abandoning his friends.

Friday came and Hide remained stumped by the mystery boy’s continued escape from the classroom. By then, he felt sure that this could be counted a challenge and even though he tried, he couldn’t find it in himself to give up.

The last lesson approached, but even glaring at the boy’s back had been to no avail. Hide supposed that mustering all of his determination in his stare wouldn’t do much if the boy wouldn’t even turn around. The boy never seemed to face anyone else, but Hide began to feel yet _another _spark of annoyance at his failure.

It felt _personal._

Though something in his head insisted that he was petty for judging a stranger he’d never even heard speak, Hide considered that the problem might not lay with himself. Perhaps the boy _wanted _to be alone. Maybe he was stuck up, or _mean,_ or even as petty as Hide and unwilling to turn around simply out of _spite._

But that didn’t make Hide’s desire to get him to pay attention any less frustrating. At a loss, Hide waited for the teacher to focus on the chalkboard. Sleuthy and discreet, he stretched as far as he possibly could to look over the stranger’s shoulder. Maybe whatever lay in his lap would offer a clue as to why the boy was so reserved and disinterested.

Why was he _doodling in a notebook?_

Notes littered the page in clear enough detail (he must have been following the lesson without raising his head much) but the margins of the paper were packed with tiny, intricate drawings and elaborate nonsense lines. For a third-grader, the skill level was almost impressive, especially if he’d been dividing his attention between both writing and drawing.

It was almost endearing, even. How could Hide fault the boy when all this time, he’d just been filling out a notebook? Some form of shame bubbled in Hide’s stomach and he decided to lean back in his own seat. The teacher wouldn’t keep his back turned for much longer.

He sat still for a few silent moments of contemplation. The next step would have to be learning more about the stranger before trying anything else. _Make him a mystery no longer._

Hide waited for the teacher to turn around once more and surreptitiously lifted from his seat to get a better glance at the notebook. The boy was sketching something that Hide couldn’t quite make out, but his pencil was scratching away _fast _in hissmall fingers.

There was already an arrangement of intricate lines running down the margins of his notes and bunches of flowers dotted along their measure. Light shadows even lay in the petals, accenting the shapes, and the first and only word Hide could conjure was _pretty._ He wondered how long it had taken for the boy to create the design because it looked finished.

Edged away from the margins (it was too detailed to be any smaller) was a plume of flames and dark smoke, billowing out of the nostrils of a dragon. The creature’s eyes were sharp and intense, and its face was less fearsome than _friendly._ It had to be styled after dragons from the West. For all the detailing, it seemed like something that would be illustrated in a children’s book.

The boy must have been focused on his new drawing more than his notes because his writing was scrunched above the mess of lines that took the space next to the dragon. Hastily, Hide glanced away from the unclear image to the front of the room, where the teacher was still working on the lesson from the chalkboard. Not even his classmates had so much as glanced in his direction, and he was grateful.

When he returned his attention to the boy’s notebook, he stifled a giggle. The new drawing was closer to a doodle and it was_ adorable. _

_Just a little bunny with big, floppy ears._

Suddenly, the boy stiffened and slowed his scratching on the page. Hide pulled back as quickly as he could, only to scuff the legs of his chair on the floor in the momentum. Instead of looking guilty, he opted to stare resolutely at the teacher, who had finally turned around to ask questions to the class. The man’s eyes roamed over Hide for a second longer than anyone else, but, finally, he settled on a student in the middle of the room.

Heart pounding painfully in his chest, Hide snuck another glance in front of him. He wondered if the noise from his chair would be enough to finally, finally prompt a reaction, but the boy only stared at the teacher and the lesson on the chalkboard.

* * *

Blowing his friends off after the school day was over was much easier than he’d expected it to be. They simply waved him off and walked in the opposite direction, chattering about their weekend plans. Hide stared after them until they were finally out of sight and then shook his head. There was no time to waste wondering about meeting up with them when he was done with his task.

Turning on his heel, Hide hurried along the corridor to the front doors of the school. He tried to squash the hope that he might run into the strange boy on his way, but _still _found himself searching the outside area with rapt scrutiny. It was to no avail.

He passed the rest of the straggling students and picked his pace up when he made it to the sidewalk. The library wasn’t terribly far from the school, but eagerness pulled him faster towards it. For the first time in a long while, Hide was curious. It wasn’t just a matter of looking up some subject for class or hobby to dabble in.

He was _learning _things, again. He _wanted _to learn things again. When his father would bring home books to read about odd things and funny stories, and they’d read them together, Hide would ask for more books, and magazines, and comics, and he’d gush about it all over their dinner.

It had been a long while.

So when he entered the library, Hide buzzed with anticipation. He had never gone there alone, but now he had aisles to pore over and books to pick out. He began with the nature section.

A librarian eyed him suspiciously as he sped to his destination. He gathered the thickest books he could find_ (and reach) _and, hugging them tightly on his chest, found an empty table to sit at. There were hardly any patrons at this time of day, and most were students just like him.

But they were probably there for school assignments, not materials on dragons and flowers. And cute, little rabbits.

Hide opened the mythology book and flipped through the pages until he came across the section for western creatures and legends. Sure enough, dragons were described with lengthy, informed paragraphs, and Hide soaked the information up.

Dragons from the West were often less like snakes and more like beasts with scales, wings, and a long tail. Something called a ‘wyvern’ and a ‘basilisk’ were popular in folklore, too, but were sometimes misnomered or confused. While some dragons in east Asia were attributed to deities, the dragons around Europe were almost always villainous and deceitful.

But _why _would the boy be interested in dragons from the West?

It didn’t offer more than a page about the beasts and their many famous stories, so Hide snapped it shut and moved it to the side. The next book boasted elegant illustrations of plants and botany. Even though he was sure that the drawings were professional, Hide recalled the boy’s notebook and all of its flowers, fleshed out with careful, thoughtful detail.

Nonetheless, he skimmed the pages for anything as intriguing as the notebook’s drawings. Plenty of plants flowered and many relied on animals or wind to pollinate and bloom, and some even _ate _tiny animals! He shuddered at the thought of a plant eating food instead of being food. At the very least, none could eat humans.

Every so often, he found a flower that was unique or strange-looking, but many of the species never deviated much from typical plant behavior. Even ones that lived in water or above the soil followed the same pattern of growing and flowering. The book was more useful for identification than knowledge.

Hide placed it on top of the mythology book and reached for the one about animals. From the corner of his eye, he caught a small figure moving quickly to the library’s front doors. His dark hair bounced with each step and his shoulders hunched as though he were afraid of looking too closely at where he was going.

_The boy._

Before Hide could overcome his astonishment, the boy was gone. He made to stand, but faltered at the thought of giving chase.

The librarian from before turned her sharp gaze onto him and Hide shrunk back into his seat. She didn’t seem the type to take kindly to patrons leaving a mess and running through the building. The boy might have shared the same sentiments about being the one who was run after.

Losing momentum, Hide reached for the animal book again and turned to the table of contents. Rabbits were labeled under _‘Exotic Pets’_.

He flipped to the section and was met with a photograph of different bunnies huddled together in a pen. The blurb next to the image pointed out the different coat colors and care tips.

Rabbits were social creatures and needed at least one other companion to maintain proper health and temperament. _They would often die if they are kept alone._

Hide read the information over again, pleased with the easy wording. At least the facts were concise.

A small laugh rumbled in his throat and, suddenly inspired, he searched his messy book bag for a page of blank loose leaf. Though the corners were a little crumpled, Hide found a pen as well and set to work.

It was possible that he might not be skilled in art.

He smoothed out his drawing anyway and carefully slid it into a folder.

* * *

That Monday, Hide concentrated on the chalkboard more than he had for nearly a week. He only needed to wait for the last lesson and _then _he would act. Time passed as slowly as it had ever since he had noticed the boy in front of him. He nearly bounced with enthusiasm and when the teacher began to fire questions at his students, Hide punched his hand into the air before anyone else.

“Ah, yes, Nagachika-kun.”

Hide stood straight and, with an unyielding grin, marched up to the front. He grabbed the chalk from the teacher’s fingers and studied the blank-spaced equation. It just needed a coefficient.

So, he scrawled two messy rabbits in the empty spot. It was _correct,_ after all.

The teacher made no effort to hide his major displeasure. “_Nagachika-kun,_” he began, a severe edge in his voice, “this is not art class. Erase that and sit down, _right _**_now._**” Hide only shook his head and chuckled.

“But Sensei, I’m right, right?! It needed a two, so I drew two!” he shot back, and, while the teacher did _not _return his humor, his classmates echoed laughter across the room. Hopeful more than ever before, Hide glanced at the back row.

The boy seemed to have just finished shaking his head, and had already lowered his head once more to his lap. From the front, it was apparent that he was holding a book over his notebook instead of writing or drawing. His expression was _supremely _disinterested.

Hide placed the chalk back into the teacher’s palm and trudged back to his desk, shoulders slumped. Some of his friends nudged him along the way, but he could only offer them half-hearted smirks.

He dropped into his seat without care and rested his head on his crossed arms. The teacher called on another student and Hide returned to glaring miserably at the stranger’s back.

Soon enough, the bell rang and all the children busied themselves with packing up their school bags. He ignored everything else and with renewed determination, Hide shot up from his chair once more. Most of his friends had already congregated, so Hide strode to their group and laughed loudly. _If nothing else, catching everyone’s attention would surely get the boy to look at him._

“_Hahahaha! _ Hey, guys! Did you enjoy class today?” he said hurriedly. They all laughed in response and a boy next to him even patted him on the back, congratulating him on his joke. He thought he saw the teacher throw him a dirty look, but the man turned away and a dark blur passed through his line of sight.

The boy he’d been trying to meet had rushed out more urgently than ever before.

Hide stared at the door, which was cleared of anyone else. Most of the students were still occupied with their bags. Someone tapped his shoulder and he startled.

“Hide-kun? What’s wrong?” questioned a girl with light, curly pigtails. He turned to her worried face and brought the confident grin back to his mouth.

“Yeah? Oh, don’t worry. I’m fine. But… I think I might head home early today.”

* * *

His efforts failed more miserably than ever, that next day.

He’d been unable to figure out a new tactic before the final bell, and the boy hurried away from his desk as soon as it rang. Hide ran to his friends again and huffed from the exertion, but after he caught his breath, he pooled it in his lungs and shouted.

“Hey-hey, you!” he cried, making certain that his voice was directed right at the boy, “You wanna hang out with us today?” And the stranger _jogged._

Deflated, Hide crossed his arms and glared at his shoes. _Why was the kid so stubborn about _**_being alone?!_**

A snort caught his notice and he raised his head to find his friends snickering. It almost seemed as though they were laughing at _him._

“What the heck was that, Nagachika?” one boy teased. But he was _leering._ Dread seeped into Hide’s veins, icy and sudden. He’d felt this before. He’d felt… _quiet._

_And small._

A girl leaned towards Hide with a giggle, her eyes amused and filled with pity. “Why were you inviting that loser to hang out with us? Everyone knows he’s just a nerd who doesn’t know how to talk to anyone!”

His mouth set into a scowl and anger laced into his tone. “_Loser? _ I just want to say hi-”

“Nah, that Kaneki kid is nobody. Don’t even bother,” she interrupted, “and he’d just make everything weird if he came with us. Not like he’d wanna hang out anyway. He’s too boring.”

“Yeah, he’s always reading those books. They’re not even assigned for homework!”

“I heard he gets away with it because all the teachers feel sorry for him. He doesn’t have any friends so they let him sit in the corner and sulk. That way nobody has to deal with him being sad all the time.”

“Did you see the way he tripped the other day on his own shoes? That was _freaking hilarious,_ man! I wish someone had taken a picture.”

“Bet if I didn’t have a dad, I’d get away with all that stuff, too. Not like anyone could ever be as lame as him, though. What a sap.”

“Yeah…” Hide trailed off, “Hey, do you guys mind if I go ahead early, today? I have stuff to do at home.”

They hummed in assent, nodding him off. Hide stalked away as quickly as Kaneki had, but not before they called after him.

“Hang out with us, tomorrow! You go home so much nowadays.”

* * *

Kaneki was more reserved than usual. His spine bent over himself far enough that it was painful to even look at, and Hide was unable to do anything but observe him, worried. Occasionally, he’d catch him looking at the window instead of his lap, unmoving.

The night before, Hide had stewed over his next step, but there was nothing he could think of that wouldn’t make Kaneki feel worse. After all, Hide was nobody to him. He was just a kid standing next to the bullies that were worth ignoring if he could just leave before they attacked him.

It had been difficult to not get sick over his revelation. At any rate, he would not give up. Not with what he’d learned. Not with what he’d seen and what he’d _felt. _But the final bell sounded and Kaneki did not get up from his seat.

The boy’s gaze lingered on the window for a few moments before he (_too _sluggishly) turned to his bookbag. From it, he retrieved a book. _The Dragons of Blueland._ The cover was decorated with a dragon not unlike the one Kaneki had doodled into his notebook. He sighed loudly enough for Hide to hear from where he sat behind and then he settled his elbows on his desktop, opening to his bookmark.

Jeering laughter echoed from the other side of the room. Hide snapped his head to the source and scowled. The bullies were fast approaching. _Never again._

Barely conscious of his decision, he rocketed from his seat to the front of Kaneki’s and mirrored his position on the desktop.

Hide stared at Kaneki’s wide, shocked eyes. _Endearing, indeed._ “What are you reading?!” he shouted as loudly as he could. Kaneki startled slightly, but Hide was pleased to hear the abrupt silence to his back. He hoped they were watching.

“Um…_ The Dra..._”

“Is it good?!”

“Um, yeah…”

Though he seemed to have calmed down from the rapid questions, his gaping eyes searched over his face and then zeroed in on his nose. Hide held back a chuckle _(what was so odd about his nose?)_ and steeled himself, ready to say his piece.

“Hey…” he began, “You’re always reading by yourself.” He nearly regretted everything when Kaneki seized up, clearly defensive. The boy’s gaze darted to his side and he mumbled, “I-is that _wrong?_”

Hide’s chest clenched and he hurried to assure the other. “No, that’s not how I meant it. I just moved here,” he said, scratching his cheek with his nerves slashing his confidence. Taking a deep breath, he added, “And I don’t have any friends, yet!”

He heard someone gasp in the distance and fought to contain his smug grin. He was loathe to give Kaneki any more confusing impressions.

“So would you…” Hide began. Pleasure roared in his heart and he smiled as brightly as it felt. “...be my friend?”

Kaneki stared at him in clear astonishment. He stuttered instead of offering a coherent response, but Hide grinned harder and raised his voice. “No?!” he demanded, chuckling at Kaneki’s vague panic.

“N-no, no…” the boy rambled (his cheeks warming to a rich pink), “I will!”

_A perfect school day._

Hide sighed in relief and made sure to show his enthusiasm. “_Really?! _ Sweet!!”

A tiny snort reached his ears and he glanced at the boy in front of him. He was laughing! And he’d make _certain _it was just the first of many.

He finally glanced over his shoulder at the group gathered there. They were _pissed._ Unwilling to give them an opportunity to retaliate, Hide ran back to his desk to grab his book bag. He slung it over his shoulder and returned to Kaneki, who had followed his movement with befuddlement. _Now or never._

“Let’s walk home together!” Hide gushed, shooting Kaneki’s book bag a pointed stare. The boy processed the request slowly, and, sensing the approaching danger, Hide grabbed his bag for him and dropped it onto his shoulder. Kaneki winced at the action and Hide frowned.

There really was no time to waste, so he latched onto Kaneki’s arm and pulled him from his seat. The boy was so small that the effort was minimal, but Hide nearly stopped short when Kaneki grunted in pain. He tried to shoot Kaneki a silent apology, but the bullies had almost made it to them.

They escaped the classroom together, and, breathing hard, stopped a block away from the school. Hide turned to the boy, beaming. With a shy smile, Kaneki returned the sentiment.

* * *

Walking home with a single companion excited Hide for all of a minute. Kaneki lagged behind with a small hunch still shaping his spine, and the silence between them barreled into a suffocating vacuum. The other kids never seemed to sit still, but Kaneki curled in on himself by nature, meek and removed from all else.

Hide wondered what he could possibly be thinking about. Then he worried that Kaneki didn’t want to be friends, after all.

Touching his shoulder had bothered him _(had he hurt himself somehow?)_ and the shouting clearly made him nervous_ (was he really so used to being ignored?)_. Hide refused to lose courage, however, and decided to break the ice. If they were going to be friends, they’d have to know each other.

“Hey… how far away do you live?”

Kaneki jumped marginally and sent Hide a tentative side-glance. “O-oh, um… not that far, I guess. It’s in this direction.”

“That’s cool! I live this way, too. I’m all the way over by the CCG headquarters,” he replied. Without thinking, he rambled on, “I’m pretty sure my dads won’t mind if we stay out for a bit, today.” _He stopped dead in his tracks._

But Kaneki didn’t stumble and his pace finally caught him up to where Hide stood, frozen. He peered at his face in question and Hide bit his lip, waiting for the fallout. He didn’t mind having two dads. He really didn’t. He finally had a home, again. But…

...most people didn’t think about how _happy_ it made him. They didn’t ask if it was a relief to have a stable home with two parents. They only made funny, disgusted faces.

Kaneki’s expression had barely changed. Rather, he appeared to be concerned.

“...Nagachika-san? Are you okay? Did I do something, or…” he trailed off, ending with in a nervous whisper. Something tense in Hide’s gut burst, then, and he shook his head. His blonde spikes of hair blurred around him like a halo.

“No, don’t worry! I’m fine! Actually, just call me Hide, okay? And is it alright if I call you, uh…” he asked, mind going blank. He’d never heard the boy’s given name. _Maybe it was rude-_

Kaneki shook his head, too, and offered him a soft smile. All of his smiles had been soft, so far. “Everyone just calls me Kaneki. I don’t mind if you call me that, too.” Hide grinned.

“Great!” Hide cleared his throat and took a moment to relish in the small, satisfying victory of actual speech. Kaneki fell quiet again, and just as soon as Hide swiveled to ask if his parents would be okay if he stayed out, the boy had returned to studying his shoes with a stubborn determination.

Hide faltered and faced forward again, mind whirring furiously for a way to revive their conversation. They were fast approaching the local park and the riverbank was already in view. No one was playing on it. The river tread along undisturbed by flying stones and splashing feet, and fish lingered just beneath its cover, soaking in the quiet, shaded waves.

The sun still beat high in the late afternoon. Few clouds streaked around it, unable to mask the last vestiges of its season-bound tyrannical heat. Hide squinted in the glare and soon squeezed his eyes tighter, feeling pressure around them.

He tentatively put his fingers to one of them. They pulled away damp and shaking.

Maybe Kaneki was lucky that his bangs were long and dark, because the bright rays of light burned brighter and forced Hide’s eyes into a watery mess. He wished his feelings were as simple as that.

_‘Don’t you dare cry. Don’t you _ ** _dare _ ** _ruin this for Kaneki… or for yourself. Pull it together!’_

Just as he inhaled to try speaking again, he was interrupted by a quaint murmur. “Hey, Hide…” 

He sniffled and whipped his head around to face Kaneki, who was still locked onto his own shoes. “Did-do you… c-can we maybe, um stick around the park for a little bit? I’m a little tired.” Hide’s mouth wobbled into a smile and he resisted laughing for fear of the strangled corruption of his voice it would probably become.

“Yes. I-I mean…” he took a deep breath and stepped closer to Kaneki, “...that sounds like fun! I love hanging out at the park. Did you have a spot in mind?”

Kaneki shook his head and slowly raised his head to meet Hide’s eyes. _He hoped they weren't tinged with pink or tear-streaks._

But the boy gave him a small smile and suddenly increased his pace. The park was dotted with loud, lively children who chased each other up and down the slides and across the sandboxes. The two ambled to the middle of the commotion and Kaneki surveyed the area before tugging on Hide’s sleeve. He followed the boy until they stopped in front of a large, blue whale.

It had a goofy smile but was stunted, probably for the sake of looking friendly and space restraints. The blue, plastic skin already looked like it had warmed just beyond comfortable in the sunlight, though Kaneki stumbled forward to the tail that lay low on the ground underneath. Hide hurried after him and climbed up the ladder that was hidden on the whale’s back.

Seated, Hide fiddled with the straps on his backpack and glanced up at Kaneki. The boy had pulled his knees snug against his chest and laid his chin in the divet between. He stared at the playground in the near distance, still silent, and Hide decided that talking would be easier when they were stationary, anyway.

“Hey, Kaneki…” he began, trying to ignore the slight jump at his words, “do you…”

Hide faltered for a moment and then grinned, wide and confident. “...Do you like bunnies?”

The boy finally swung his head around to gape at Hide. His lips squirmed in a funny line before they settled into a puzzled purse. “Uh… what?”

Feeling free enough to giggle, Hide continued. “Do you like bunnies? I mean, I saw one in…” he blanched, cheeks glowing pink. _He wasn’t supposed to have snooped over his friend’s shoulder._

Kaneki’s mouth eased into a light _smirk,_ of all things, and he stunned Hide with his own chuckle. “Wait… did you happen to see my notebook?” he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice. Then he paused. “Wait, why were you looking at my notebook? I’ve never shown anyone…”

The boy clapped his hands to his round, ruddy cheeks, clearly cowed. “Ugh, that’s kind of embarrassing. Does anyone else know that I draw on my notes?”

“N-no, man!” Hide replied, trying to diffuse the tension that had snapped back into the air after finally dissipating with Kaneki’s laughter. “I just, crap, I just got curious, is all! You were always looking down at your lap, so I figured, heh, he must have something cooler than the stupid stuff on that squeaky chalkboard. Our teacher is so boring! He doesn’t have anything interesting to say at all. That’s why you-”

He stopped. Kaneki had broken into a smile again, far brighter than before. “Yeah, it _is _pretty boring! That’s why I doodle so much. Something’s gotta keep me focused on my notes or else I just want to open my book and ignore everything. That’s why I-”

This time, Kaneki stopped. He looked to the side, thoughtful. “But… rabbits? I barely even remember drawing one. Are you really sure I did?”

Hide nodded emphatically, struck with an enticing urge. “Hey, hey, get out your notes! We can compare.”

“H-huh?”

Hide was already wrestling with the crammed folders in his mess of a school bag, and soon enough, he managed to procure the most important one. _The lonely one._

“You gotta check it out, dude! Come on, hurry up!” he urged, and Kaneki hid a thinly veiled expression of befuddlement before reaching for his own bag. Hide struggled to contain his excitement, vibrating where he sat, and when the other had finally, finally pulled out his notes, he grabbed at it.

Kaneki squeaked but Hide flipped through its pages, heart bursting with pleasure as he made it to the right spot. He left the notebook open and laid it between them, nudging it close enough to Kaneki that he could see.

“Oh, I guess I did draw one… but what did you mean compare-?”

Kaneki stared. Hide only felt his cheeks burning with their spread and his heart bursting at the seams of his chest. “Mine needed a friend. _Actually,_” he sniffed, taken with pride _(and failing to hide it)_, “I know _quite _a bit about rabbits, thanks to my awesome research skills. Did you know…”

He waited for the suspense to tear at Kaneki and the boy creased his brow, impatience painting his emotion. “...What? What about them?” Hide grinned, hard. “Hide, _what?!_”

Pleased, he finished. “Rabbits die if they’re all alone. You gotta give them a friend, or they’ll never make it. Yours looked like it was getting pretty sick, so you can have mine.”

He shoved his crumpled drawing into Kaneki’s loosened fists. The boy studied it, face pensive and unyielding.

“Oh. I see.”

Kaneki giggled. “Yours needs a bit of care, too. It looks like its face is about to melt off.”

“Oi!” Hide laughed, “don’t say that! I tried my best, but there was only so much to work with… and anyways, I didn’t wanna outshine you. Yeah, I’m hiding my potential under wraps. You win this round, Kaneki. Watch out for my debut as _‘Hide: the child artist prodigy!’_, and they’ll say I’m so handsome for my age and everyone gets jealous of how much I know about bunnies-”

“You still call them _bunnies,_ apparently.”

“Nah, just around my friends. They’re the only ones I can trust with my secret genius. I can teach you all about them, Kaneki. Trust me, I’m super smart.”

The boy smiled, braving the gap between them. “Trust me, I’m always reading those books. I’d have noticed you if you were a nerd like me. Now I can teach you about keeping _your _genius a secret.”

* * *

Kaneki startled at the onslaught of something light bouncing off the back of his head. He hunched his shoulders tightly and straightened, observing the front of the room. The teacher was engrossed in his droning spiel about whatever was occupying the board.

He eyed the setting once more before swiveling in his seat, slow and steady. The boy behind him kept his straight face for four seconds and then crumbled his façade. Hide’s smirk was nothing vicious and everything endearing.

_(Annoying and _ ** _stop doing that in the middle of class, Hide._ ** _)_

There was nothing for it. Kaneki grinned back.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! <3
> 
> Comment to let me know what you thought!


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